Past Life Returner

There had been a total of twenty-three alien attacks in the past two and a half months since the Awakened returned. They occurred every two days on average and typically consisted of around ten monsters.

The target of these invasions was obviously the headquarters of the Awakened, never deviating from this pattern. It was the same for the attack in Manchester on the 25th.

However, this attack took place in the wealthy neighborhood of Rumson, New Jersey, at Jonathan’s mansion. When Jonathan sensed the invasion, he recalled the message he had received from Seon-Hu.

He didn’t know how or why his mansion became the next target, but it appeared to be related to the infiltrating soldiers from Old One on the mainland. The change in the pattern of attacks, happening the day after he received the message, made it seem less likely to be a coincidence. He had never imagined this would happen in his mansion.

Jonathan could feel the presence of the seven attackers while checking the blue barrier outside his window. Then, he heard the sound immediately.

Pow. Pow. Pow pow pow-

The security guards of the mansion started firing the rifles, and the smell of gunpowder filled his nostrils.

“This is perfect timing.”

His eyes flashed red in the direction of the battle. He had been holding back his anger from the protests, so his counterattack was filled with personal emotion. Every time he crushed the heads of the already incapacitated attackers, a sharp-tempered laugh escaped from him.

In the end, there was only one alien left, an elf who had not participated in the battle and simply watched as his fellows died. It was hard to tell if the last one was the same species with other attackers because while others were all species from the Greenwood continent, this one was an elf with pointy ears.

However, they could be considered one group due to their uniforms. All the previous attackers wore the battle gear of the Lacryma Order, and this male elf was no exception. As the elf turned, the battle gear underneath his armor fluttered, and a dazzling light flashed. There was undoubtedly an effect imbued in its gear unlike others.

Jonathan heard that Sun could still read the messages, but he couldn’t. Nonetheless, he could roughly guess what it was - a negative effect, Glaciation, a powerful binding force like that of an S-class insignia.

This force shot up vertically from where the elf was standing, quelling the flames of the King of Hell and freezing Jonathan’s ankles. Not only was the effect powerful, but the elf’s agility in escaping into the garden was also impressive.

At that moment, Jonathan’s face contorted in anger. The elf never intended to fight him in the first place, considering how it simply scouted his abilities and quickly retreated.

When Jonathan finally broke free from the binding and shattered the ice, the elf had already disappeared, and the Blue Veil was gone now.

All that was left were the corpses of the Greenwood species attackers and the security guards caught in the initial battle. However, they were not intact, as most of the bodies had lost their shape in the flames consuming the mansion. The mansion collapsed entirely as the sound of sirens approached.

It was easy to find a new place to live, but he couldn’t help but stare at the ashes of his mansion primarily because he was shocked that the aliens had specified him as a target and attacked.

The fact that the leader, who possessed a power level comparable to that of an Awakened in the challenger section, appeared, observed him covertly, and then fled, indicated…that the Old One had begun assessing the situation on the mainland.

Then, Kim Cheong-Soo pushed through the crowd and rushed to Jonathan. Despite Jonathan’s blood-stained and fierce expression, Kim Cheong-Soo brought his face close to him. The other man's breath was unusually heavy.

He whispered in Jonathan’s ear, “Daniel is saying something strange.”

Daniel was one of the knights of the financial empire that Seon-Hu had personally hired. He managed Gold and Silver Investment and was based in The City of London like Gillian. He was leading the fourth domain, following the Jonathan Group, Gillian Group, and Telestar Investment.

Although his range of responsibilities wasn’t as wide as Jessica’s, there was no doubt that he was one of the key figures in the financial empire.

Jonathan raised his voice slightly, “Something strange?”

“Daniel claims that he is not Daniel.”

***

The first thing Daniel did after taking over his current body was to deliver the information he had gathered and the warnings to the Lacryma Order. It wasn’t a difficult task. He just needed to concentrate his memories on the sacred artifact of the church he had brought along with the Soul Ring, then threw it into Dragorin, which then naturally flowed into Elsland.

The science and technology of this world was indeed impressive, but doing something like this was impossible even here. Also, as the owner of this body was a person of Odin's, so he couldn’t afford the timing to throw the artifact into Dragorin as he was with other Odin’s people all the time.

However…

“Breaking news. A Blue Veil phenomenon has been discovered at Jonathan Hunter’s residence…”

Why did they send me if this was going to happen…

Daniel’s face collapsed as he watched the television with a frustrated expression. The sense of despair he felt was more terrible than he had anticipated. Despite his earnest warnings, the church still sent an expedition team to the King of Hell.

I, for sure, warned them that sending an expedition to him would actually help him! What is wrong with them?

Daniel felt as if the rotten smell of the palace had spread here. The queen was indulging in pleasure with the young Kanonas, and the entire court was full of veiled enmities, which ultimately prevented his warning from reaching the queen’s ears. It was foolish to expect that even a little change would occur if the palace learned how perfectly and benevolently the Doom Man ruled his own world.

This is why I hesitated until the end…

Tik!

The hand that pressed the remote control button with a weak gesture had no strength in it. However, he realized that threatening thoughts were sprouting in his mind, then widened his eyes.

He thought…if Odin, Doom Man, ruled Elsland as he ruled his own world, it would be great. The Doom Man was an ideal emperor, although he was titled as a Demon King. People here weren’t aware of it, so they were protesting. However, that was the world that Doom Man wanted, a place where people could voice their opinions.

Anyway, Doom Man’s actions had been consistently noble before and after the Stage of Advent, as well as during the decades that followed. He could have dictated his world oppressively, but he chose not to as he didn’t wish to have blood splattering everywhere here.

That was why he placed the dangerous Awakened into the capitalist world and sent them to Dragorin. This made Daniel more confused. The memories of the bodies he had been in didn’t explain why Odin had joined the Demon Kings. There were stories about Odin taking in the malice that had resided in the system, but did something happen at that point?

Daniel shifted his gaze back to his phone. He felt like the King of Hell, Jonathan Hunter, who had worked with Odin for a long time, would be able to resolve his burning curiosity. He was the closest confidant of Odin. Seeing that Jonathan had received full authority over the club by Odin and was standing on his behalf proved that he knew a lot about Odin.

Nevertheless, the moment he contacted the King of Hell, things would become irreversible. It was an act of abandoning his lord, Lacryma. Suddenly, Daniel felt like the Soul Ring was cursed as he had learned something he didn’t need to know.

From the moment Daniel’s thoughts reached that point, his hand began to tremble nervously. Even when most of the club members foresaw the current protests and insisted on reviving Project Teserra, Odin silenced them.

Daniel’s chest ached as he recalled Odin at that time. The pain felt like angina, and his heart raced uncontrollably with guilt, as if he had insulted Lord Lacryma.

However, it was probably because he had already made up his mind. Nothing could stop Daniel. Before he knew it, he was searching for Brian Kim in his phone contacts because the King of Hell was confronting the Lacryma’s worshippers at the battlefield.

<Brian Kim: Daniel?>

<Daniel: I need to hear an answer from the King of Hell.>

<Brian Kim: That is pretty rude because the King of Hell is dealing with an attack right now…>

<Daniel: There is nothing to worry about that.>

No one in this world knew that Odin was Doom Man. It appeared that Odin was hiding it, so Daniel didn’t bother asking Kim Cheong-Soo if he was aware of the fact.

<Daniel: Please let the King of Hell know that I am waiting for a response.>

<Brain Kim: Daniel, hey! Are you out of your mind?>

<Daniel: Maybe I am. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have contacted you in the first place.>

<Brian Kim: …Daniel… What is going on?>

<Daniel: I am not Daniel. The Daniel you knew is gone. Please deliver my words to King of Hell, Brian.>

Daniel continued while fiddling with the Soul Ring.

<Daniel: I am from Elsland, Dragorin.>

For the few minutes after hanging up the call while he was waiting for a reply, Daniel doubted his decision several times. However, his mind remained unchanged as he felt that this was worth risking his life for.

<Jonathan: You said you came from Elsland, right?>

The call started with a question, and Daniel started explaining over the phone.

<Daniel: Tell me the truth, and if that truth aligns with my intentions, I am willing to turn to your side.>

<Jonathan: Who are you, then?>

<Daniel: My name is Aslan. Call me Aslan.>